Sue and her family have a long and reciprocal relationship with Blythe House and Helen’s Trust; both from accessing care here, and supporting the hospice’s provision via their own charitable trust.
Sue set up the Stuart Fraser-Thomson Foundation in memory of her husband in 2011, after he died at home following his diagnosis with a terminal brain tumour. Stuart accessed care and support at Blythe House before his death.
The foundation raises funds to pay for mobility solutions including ramps and stair lifts for patients who wish to spend their final weeks of life in the comfort of their own home.
The physiotherapy and occupational therapy team here at Blythe House and Helen’s Trust work closely with the trust to access support aids for patients across the community.
Sue’s dad, Bill, was cared for at Sue’s home in Tunstead Milton by the Blythe House Hospice at Home service, before he sadly died in 2016. The team was there to support Sue’s mum, Eileen, in the final months of her life from October 2021 to May 2022.
Sue explained: ‘Mum was admitted to hospital in September 2021; doctors never really fully understood what was wrong with her. At first, they suspected it might be a tumour, but then suggested it could be engorged blood vessels in her abdomen. From then on, Mum was never really the same again. She wasn’t managing at home and she was no longer the feisty Mum that I knew.
‘Mum never wanted to accept outside help, but I called Dr Sarah Parnacott [consultant in palliative medicine at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, providing palliative care to patients across the High Peak and surrounding communities], who referred Mum to the Hospice at Home service.
‘Healthcare assistants would visit Mum at her home in Whaley Bridge every morning to support her with making breakfast, helping her around the home and just generally being good company for her. Mum became unsteady on her feet and she felt worried about taking showers, so she’d wait until the healthcare assistant arrived so they could help her if anything went wrong.
‘I spend a lot of time in France during the winter months and so it was great to know that Mum had regular contact and support from the Hospice at Home team. I came back from France in March 2022, and Mum was going into hospital in April to have a hernia repair operation. When she came out of hospital, she wasn’t steady at all on her feet and she had a fall; fracturing her ribs. After that, she came to live at my house, and she started to have Hospice at Home support through the nights too.
‘It was such a feeling of reassurance to know the healthcare assistants were there. Being able to get a good night’s sleep is a huge help. Mum was very comfortable with the team too, which put me at ease. I don’t think you realise you’re exhausted until you go to bed and you can just fully relax and sleep. It is hard to even describe.
‘When you’re caring for a loved one with a terminal illness, it’s just one thing after another, and it’s hard to put into words. You manage because you have to. Your sleep is so broken; you can become so low. It is a huge benefit to just get some sleep, and the Hospice at Home team enabled that to happen. The service supported both of my parents to die in the comfort of familiar surroundings, with their loved ones beside them.’
- Find out more about the Hospice at Home service
- Learn more about the Stuart Fraser-Thomson Foundation
